


what should've happened

by thathomelesswriter11



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Angst, F/F, F/M, Fluff, Justice For Barb, Pining, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-01
Updated: 2016-12-18
Packaged: 2018-09-03 11:58:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 5,986
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8712925
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thathomelesswriter11/pseuds/thathomelesswriter11
Summary: Barb's really gay. Steve's an ass. Nancy loves Barb, but not like that, but yes like that.





	1. Chapter 1

“We just…made out a couple times”

“We just…made out a couple times,” says Barb, mimicking Nancy’s words. Nancy blushes in response as she opens her locker. A note falls out and Barb is quick enough to pick it before Nancy.  
“Well, well, well, I wonder who this could be from,” Barb teases.

“Oh, just give it here, Barb,” Nany pleads, blushing more and more by the second. Barb makes a little show of unfolding the note, making Nancy even more impatient. She clears her throat and reads it aloud.

“Meet me in the girls bathroom before lunch. -Steve. Oh and look I think he’s tried to draw a heart or something, but really it just looks like some misshapen blob-“ Nancy snatches it out of Barb’s hand, interrupting her.

“Hey! I wasn’t finished with that,” Barb protests. Nancy re-reads the note, and Barb watches the uncontrollable smile form over her friend’s face. Nancy looks up and bites her lip.

“I think he really likes me.” Barb sighs in response and rolls her eyes. What she wants to say is Yeah, he’s not the only one but what she really says is: “Ya think??” And it really doesn’t help when Nancy rolls her eyes back at Barb and playfully shoves her. The two close their adjacent lockers simultaneously.

“See you at lunch,” Nancy says before walking off.

“Assuming you don’t stay in the bathroom the whole time,” Barb calls after her. Nancy can only swivel her head around to stick her tongue out at Barb. Barbara leans back against her locker, hitting her head against it a little harder than she meant to, trying her best not to picture Steve Harrington’s face anywhere near Nancy’s.

~~~~~

Barb sits at the table she and Nancy have sat at every day for the past two years. She takes out her peanut butter and jelly sandwich and an apple. Her eyes scan the sea of faces that are talking and laughing throughout the cafeteria. It had always been Nancy and Barb, Barb and Nancy. No one had wanted to be her lab partner in 9th grade Biology. No one but Nancy of course. It was her small smile and friendly wave that had made Barb register Nancy’s invitation to be partners. Barb still remembers how she had stupidly mouthed “Me?” and Nancy had nodded and hid her mouth as a little laugh had escaped in the quiet classroom. That was when Barb decided that if she had to be lab partners with a total stranger she would, if it meant she could hear that laugh every day.

It didn’t take long after that for them to become best friends. Nancy would come over to study with Barb any time they had a quiz or test, and then she would just come over any time. But in 10th grade, Steve Harrington came in to the picture. It had started with the spit balls in english. Barb would never understand how tearing off scraps of paper and chewing on them before blowing them out of a straw at the back of Nancy’s hair could ever be considered “endearing” or “cute.” And at first it seemed like Nancy didn’t want anything to do with him. But the spitballs turned in to paper airplanes, and then the paper airplanes turned in to notes, and that was how Nancy ended up going to the spring formal with Steve. Barb had stayed home, saying she was sick, which was only a little bit true.

Thankfully, that summer Steve had been away at camp, so Nancy and Barb had the summer to themselves. They’d spent it at the carnival, eating cotton candy and crackerjacks, laughing in to the long hours of the afternoon. They’d spent it with sleepovers, watching horror movies and fistfuls of popcorn. Nancy would always, always, jump at the worst parts, sending Barb in to fits of giggles. They’d spent it with trips to the swimming pool, where they’d eat grape and orange popsicles until their fingers and faces were sticky. They’d spent it at science camp, where they’d not so secretly been competing with themselves to see who could make the best model rocket shoot the farthest in to the sky. Barb had let Nancy win of course. It was worth the laugh and triumphant smile on Nancy’s face when her rocket had bursted in to the air high above Barb’s. But then summer ended and school started again. And Barb was all too aware of the new and persistent presence of Steve Harrington’s stupid hair and smug face. Barb bit in to her apple, still trying not to think about Steve and Nancy, Nancy and Steve.

“Barb, hey do you think Steve and Tommy H and Carol could sit with us today?” Barb blinks out of her daze, to find Nancy standing before her, with Steve and Tommy H and Carol lingering behind her.

“Oh yeah, sure,” Barb replies, knowing there’s not really anything else she can say. She scoots over a chair and moves her lunch with her, Nancy slides in next to her, Steve sits across from Nancy while Tommy H and Carol sit next to Steve. Nancy shoots Barb a look of thanks and Barb just smiles in to her next bite of apple.

“Sooo, Nancy, my parents are gonna be out of town tomorrow night,” Steve says.

“Oh really? Where are they going?” Nancy asks in turn. Tommy H and Carol snicker to themselves.

“Yeah, where are they going Steve??” Tommy’s exaggerated question makes Carol laugh more. Steve pushes Tommy’s face away before he turns back to Nancy.

“Well, what I’m saying is they won’t be home, so the house’ll be free,” Nancy nods along, and Barb just rolls her eyes.

“I thought you said she was smart, Steve,” quips Carol. Barb’s grip on her sandwich tightens and she narrows her eyes at Carol.

“Shut up, Carol,” Steve says. Tommy laughs and Carol punches him on the arm.

“What I’m saying is, I’m gonna have a little party, just us three and you should come too,” says Steve.

“Oh, oh, well I don’t know, tomorrow’s a Tuesday, ya know,” Nancy says. Now it’s Carol and Tommy H’s turn to roll their eyes.

“C’mon, it’ll be fun, Nance. I have a pool too,” Steve smiles at Nancy and she smiles back. Barb suddenly becomes particularly interested in the shape of her apple.

“Okay, well I guess I could come for a bit,” Nancy says.

“We have that chemistry test to study for though,” Barb says.

“Yeah, Steve, they have a chemistry test to study for,” says Carol and she and Tommy start to laugh again.

“You two are brainiacs, you don’t need to study. You can come too, Barbara,” Says steve after he kicks Tommy under the table. Barb looks taken aback at the invitation and she turns to Nancy, unsure.

“We’ll be there,” Nancy says confidently, turning to Barb and nodding.

“Cool,” Steve smiles back at Nancy and the blush that creeps in to her cheeks makes Barb wince a little.

~~~~~~

“Pull over here!”

“Why? His house is like seven blocks up from here,” Barb asks in response.

“We can’t just park in the driveway, what if the neighbors see?”

“Nancy, we don’t have to go to this, we can just go back to my house and study,” Barb sees Nancy’s clear lack of interest written all over her face. “or we could not study, we could watch a movie or play cards or something.”

“No, Barb, we’re already here and it’ll just be for a little while,”

“Nancy, don’t you know why he invited you tonight?” Barb asks.

“He invited you too,” Barb shakes her head in response.

“Just to be polite, to get on your good side. Nancy all he wants is to get in your pants.” There’s a glimpse of genuine hurt on Nancy’s face and for a second Barb regrets her words.

“No, c’mon that’s not true. Tommy H and Carol will be there too.”

“Nancy, those two have been having sex since middle school practically. It’ll just be like a giant orgy.” Nancy laughs a little.

“Barb, come on, you can be like my chaperone, make sure nothing bad happens if I get drunk or something.” Barb scoffs and turns off the car, but before she gets out, Nancy start to lift off her shirt.

“Nancy, um, what are, um, what are you doing?”

“Just changing my top,” Nancy says as nonchalantly as she can.

“Is that a new bra?” Barb silently curses and praises her peripheral vision.

“Maybe,” Nancy’s cheeks tinge a slight pinkish color.

“Oh, well, it looks nice. Looks expensive really.” Nancy blushes even more, and that doesn’t help Barb much at all, as she finally gets her new shirt over her head. The two make their way to Steve’s front door, Barb senses the nervousness in her friend beside her.

“Seriously, we don’t have to be here,” she says to Nancy.

“Barb, I want to. It’ll be fine.” Nancy reaches over to take Barb’s hand and she gives it a little squeeze. That doesn’t help Barb much either, considering she’s kind of, a little bit, totally, in love with her best friend.


	2. Chapter 2

Barb didn’t know what she had been expecting to do at a party where she was the unceremonious fifth wheel, but finding herself sitting in a pool chair next to Nancy and Steve and Tommy and Carol was pretty underwhelming. Especially when Nancy was laughing at every stupid joke Steve made, and Tommy H and Carol were too busy sucking face to notice anyone else around them. 

“Hey, Tommy!” Steve called over to him, but Carol was proving to be too great a distraction. Steve picked up the empty beer can next to him and threw it at Tommy who jumped slightly on impact. 

“Toss me another one, will ya?” Tommy’s beer can sailed right over Nancy’s head and into Steve’s outstretched hand. He sticks it out to Nancy, offering it up. 

“Oh, I’m good for now, thanks though.” Steve shrugs in response.

“Suit yourself,” he replies before standing up to shotgun the can. Barb rolls her eyes, looking over at Nancy to share the pathetically amusing moment with her, only to find Nancy’s eyes transfixed on Steve, her mouth agape slightly. Steve burps when he’s done and crushes the can with one hand before exaggeratedly throwing it on the ground, awaiting Nancy’s response.

“What, was that supposed to impress me or something?” Nancy blurts out. 

“Didn’t it?” Steve cockily replies. Barb’s accidental outward sigh catches Nancy’s attention. Nancy turns her chair to face Barb’s. 

“Hey, you. How’s it going?” Nancy asks softly. 

“Oh, I’m doing fine, I guess. Still glad we came?” Barb asks. Nancy smiles and laughs, shaking her head at Barb.

“Barbara, you need to lighten up a little. C’mon, shotgun a beer with me?” Nancy raises an eyebrow in proposition and when Barb smiles in response, Nancy smiles back and takes Barb’s hands in hers to help her up out of the chair. 

“Alright, Steve, we’ll take two,” Nancy says. Steve looks slightly taken aback but laughs a little in recovery and hands Barb and Nancy each a beer. 

“So the trick is-“ 

“Yeah we get it, you cut a slit in the bottom and suck the rest of it down while holding it up. Simple physics.” Barb interrupts. Now it’s Nancy who looks at Barb with an impressed look on her face. Steve throws his hands up in the air and sits back down. 

“Ms. Holland,” Nancy raises her beer can to Barb’s.

“Ms. Wheeler,” Barb replies and the two cheers, smiling at one another. Nancy cuts open her can with a pocket knife, quickly handing it to Barb. Barb slices open the can, and with a rush of adrenaline she holds it up and starts to guzzle it down alongside Nancy. The two finish only seconds apart, gasping slightly once their cans are empty. The beer doesn’t really taste like anything but it still makes Barb feel a little airy at first. Nancy lets out a burp and clasps her hands over her mouth, embarrassedly turning a shade of pink. Barb laughs and the burst of energy makes her feel a little unsteady. Steve lets out a wolf whistle. 

“Wow, Nancy, didn’t know you had it in you,” Nancy shoves him and he falls back down in to his chair. She turns back to face Barb, letting out a gasp of surprise. 

“Barb, you’re bleeding!” Barb looks down at herself but doesn’t see anything. Instinctively, her hands move towards her face where she feels the sting of an open cut on her lower lip. 

“Oh, I didn’t even notice. Must’ve cut it on the aluminum.” Barb says, trying to play it off. Nancy rushes forward to inspect the cut, gently using her hand to reach up to Barb’s face to steady it. Barb feels the warmth of Nancy’s hands on her face and relaxes in to it, forgetting the sting on her lip.

“It’s not too bad, I think you just need to clean it a little, here let me take you inside.” Nancy says, pulling her hand away. Barb feels a wave of embarrassment wash over her after the security of Nancy’s hand leaves her face. 

“No, no, it’s fine, I’ll just be a minute.” Barb rushes off towards the house, trying to get away before Nancy can protest. Just as Barb makes it in to the house, she can hear the splash of the pool. 

“Steve!” Nancy comes up from the water, soaking. Steve and Tommy high five and Tommy pushes Carol in, she falls with a shriek. Tommy jumps in after her, a beer clutched in his hand, laughing his head off. Steve shrugs down at Nancy. 

“Oops,” Steve says before jumping in too. Carol sends wave after wave of water at Tommy’s head, before he finally fights his way through to dunk her down. Steve circles Nancy, mischievously, a similar look of bemusement on Nancy’s face. Finally, he takes a sudden deep breath and submerges, swimming towards Nancy’s legs to pull her down too. Nancy cries out before the sound is stifled by the water filling her mouth.

~~~~

Barb carefully inspects the cut on her lip in the bathroom mirror. Its minuscule size makes her smile to herself, Only Nancy would notice that, she thinks. She takes a paper towel and wets it before cleaning the cut. She realizes how flushed her face looks in the mirror, the beer keeping her feeling a little bit lighter. She makes her way out of the bathroom, but before she heads back outside, she sees the foursome in the pool. Barb feels a twinge of hurt flood through her, feeling left out and still utterly frustrated that Steve Harrington’s stupid hair and stupid face had to waltz in to her life. 

She pauses at the foot of the stairs, questioning her conscious that wants to pull her up the stairs, and the other side that knows she shouldn’t look in to other people’s lives. Curiosity gets the better of her and she strides up the stairs two at a time. She pushes open the door at the end of the hallway, intuition leading the way. She laughs out loud at the sight of Steve’s room. In true straight teenage boy fashion, clothes litter the floor and an all too recognizable stench of body odor and cologne mix unpleasantly. Posters of supermodels line the walls, a Beatles one hangs above his unkempt bed. Papers are scattered all over his desk. Barb moves closer to examine some of them. Most of them are just old school assignments, even a few homework notes, but a crumpled up yellow lined paper one catches Barb’s eyes. She unfolds it, blaming the beer on her invasion of privacy. At first Barb only recognizes the list to be simply girl’s names, with the top of it titled “The List,” underlined a few times. But then Barb catches the sight of Nancy’s towards the bottom of the long list of several.

Barb narrows her eyes in confusion, pushing her glasses further up her nose to keep them from sliding down. A few of the names towards the top are crossed out, a few have stars next to them, Nancy’s doesn’t have anything by it. Barb flips over the paper, where a series of exchanges from Tommy and Steve lay scribbled out, undoubtedly notes passed during class. Barb reads over them quickly, her grip on the paper tightening as she realizes what she’s found. A bet. A contest. A game. That’s all that Nancy means to him. Tommy had waged Steve $50 for every girl he could have sex with by the end of the year, a five dollar bonus for every date he took them on. Barb throws the paper down in disgust, her cut beginning to bleed again. She had been chewing on her lip without noticing. Barb storms out of the room, her only thoughts are of Nancy, and how much she wants to punch Steve Harrington’s stupid little face. Just as Barb reaches the foot of the stairs, Tommy and Carol come stumbling through the door to the pool, once again unaware of Barb’s presence. Nancy comes in next, wrapped in a towel, a laugh etched on her face, Steve right behind her. 

“Barbara! Why there you are, aren’t you just a vision!” Nancy exclaims in some attempt at a rendition of a old timey accent, clearly having had more than the one beer. Steve laughs tugging her along. 

“Nancy! We need to leave,” Barb says, unamused. Nancy’s happy expression fades.

“Now, Barbara, why would you say such a thing? I need to go upstairs, to change clothes. We got a little rinsed off,” Nancy giggles through her final remarks, Steve grinning stupidly. 

“Yeah, Barbara, she’s awfully wet you know?” Steve adds, with a smirk on his face. Barb stares in to him, her eyes unblinking behind her glasses. She steps closer to him, putting herself in between him and Nancy. 

“You need to shut up,” Barb says pointing at Steve, “Nancy, c’mon, it’s time to go.” Steve makes an exaggeratedly affronted face. 

‘“Hey, Barb, seriously what’s going on? I’m not leaving yet,” Nancy says. Barb finally looks away from Steve, to look back at Nancy. Nancy’s eyes flit down to Barb’s lips. Barb feels the blood pooling slightly from when she re-opened it. 

“Nancy, trust me. You don’t want to be here, with..with him,” Barb says, jamming her thumb in the direction of Steve. 

“Hey, now, who was it who invited you along?” Steve asks in a defensive tone. 

“I thought I told you to shut up,” Barb spits back. 

“Barb, stop, seriously. Just, just go home or something. I don’t know what’s your problem right now,” Nancy says, scowling at Barb. 

“Nancy, he doesn’t really care about you, he’s just trying to use you to-“ 

“Barb! Stop. Just leave, okay?” Nancy’s interjection stings Barb worse than the cut on her lip. The seconds of silence that follow feel like minutes, with Barb and Nancy staring back at each other, Steve still smug watching the two girls. 

“If that’s what you really want then,” Barb says as she brushes past Nancy and Steve and out the still open door to the pool. Steve laughs awkwardly, taking Nancy by the hand to lead her up the stairs. Nancy gets to the top and looks back down the steps, to where Barb had just been moments before. Wanting to go back down, but letting herself be pulled along by the boy who is closer to her. Nancy can’t help but notice how different his rough hand feels compared to Barb’s soft and pillowy ones.


	3. Chapter 3

Barb could taste the blood in her mouth from her reopened cut. She cursed herself for being reckless enough to cut herself while drinking a beer of all things. She sits on the edge of the diving board, staring down in to the pool. Her reflection staring right back. She tries not to think about the last time she was by a pool…

_“Okay, but I still can’t believe that Darth Vader would be Luke’s father,” Nancy says folding her arms over the side of the pool._

_“But they were clearly building up to it. I mean the whole ‘I didn’t know who my father was’ thing was clearly pointing to it being a pre-existing character.” Barb says, folding her arms similarly._

_“Yeah, I guess you’re right. Hey you’ll come with me to the sixth one, right? I don’t want to be alone with Mike and all his friends, I’ll go crazy.”_

_Barb laughs softly in response. “Of course I’ll come with you.” Barb looks over at Nancy, squinting from the reflecting sunlight in the water. Nancy smiles back and sighs, resting her head on her crossed arms._

_"Barb, do you think next year will be different?”_

_“Different how?” “I don’t know. Junior year. I just feel like things might change somehow.” Barb’s face twists slightly in confused thought. The sun shining off of Nancy’s damp hair making her squint even more._

_“Yeah, I’m sure some things might change,” Barb rests her head down on her arms to face Nancy’s. “But nothing we won’t be able to get through together.” The smile on Nancy’s face is one that Barb knows she only has for her. “I don’t know what I’d do without you, Barbara,” Nancy says nudging Barb’s arm with her own. And Barb can’t help but smile back. The blush in her cheeks hidden by the glaring afternoon sun…_

The small drops of tears in to the pool below are the only sounds that fill the silence around Barb.

~~~~

“Soo this is my room,” Steve says, graciously holding the door open for Nancy, the towel still wrapped around her. Nancy takes in the sights around her.

“Wow, it’s really quite…something,” she stifles a laugh.

“Well I’m the interior decorator so I’ll take that as a compliment,” he says taking smaller steps closer to her.

“Steve..” Nancy turns to face him. “Nancy..” he says with his hands in his back pockets, still taking a step closer, only a foot from her.

“The clothes,” she says, shyly smiling at him.

“Clothes? Who needs clothes?” He answers, taking his hands out of his pockets, to brush off the towel around her shoulders.

“Steve, wait.” He tucks a wet strand of hair behind her ear.

“It’s okay, just relax.” Nancy takes a small step backwards.

“Wait, it’s just that…I’m thirsty. Do you think you could grab me a glass of water?” There’s a brief twinge of annoyance in his eyes, so brief that Nancy almost think she imagined it.

He sighs slightly before responding. “Yeah, sure. I’ll just be a minute.” he says before backing up slowly and leaving his room.

Nancy feels the tension in her shoulders drop and she realizes she’d been holding her breath as she lets out a deep sigh. She sits down on the bed, the alcohol finally catching up to her making her feel a little dizzy. She rubs her hands over her pants, trying to calm herself. Thoughts of Barb swirl in her brain, the gravity of her friend’s tone sticking in her mind. She realized that while Barb had never outwardly shown her displeasure for Steve, she knew her closest friend disapproved of him. Nancy feels a twinge of guilt, wondering why she didn’t talk to Barb about it more before. But the way Barb had spoken to him and to herself was somehow different than any kind of jealous antics. Barb had been trying to warn her of something. Nancy abruptly sits up, a crumpled paper beneath her foot startling her as she rises. She bends down to pick it up, instinctively unfolding it. Nancy reads over it, her eyes scanning the words furiously. She reads it once. Twice. Three times. Tears swell up in her eyes. She flips it over reading over the list of names of girls, classmates, most of whom she recognizes. She balls up the paper throwing it back to the floor.

She practically runs out of the room, the dizziness making her nauseous, vomit rising in her throat. Nancy runs down the stairs grabbing her jacket before walking out the front door. The cold fall air bites through her still damp clothes. She keeps running till she’s two houses down from Steve’s, finally stopping to throw up, the tears flowing freely now. She stumbles towards Barb’s car, almost crying out at the sight of Barb fitting the key in to the lock of her car.

“Barb, wait!” Barb wheels around, dropping her keys on the pavement, startled by the sigh of her best friend, tear streaked and shivering. But before Barb can say anything, Nancy’s running the last steps towards her and sobbing in to the hug she throws around her. Barb hugs back, resting her head on her friend’s shorter one.

“Nancy, did he hurt you?” Barb feels the small shake of Nancy’s head beneath hers. Barb just hugs her tighter, holding Nancy closer to her. “

Barb, I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry.”

“Hey, it’s okay. It’s gonna be alright. You’re gonna be alright.” Nancy’s sobs subside slightly in to the warmth of Barb’s embrace. And even though Barb can feel the cold fall air through her thing jacket, and even though Nancy probably got some vomit on her shirt, Barb thinks to herself that she’d really be okay with just hugging Nancy outside her car forever.

“I’ve got you, Nancy. I promise.”


	4. Chapter 4

Nancy wakes up to the heat of the morning sun blasting through the blinds of Barb’s bedroom window. She registers the presence of someone else beside her. No, not someone. Barbara. She thinks to herself. Nancy is the epitome of the little spoon position. Barb still holding her close as she did the night before, breathing softly. Nancy’s head is a dull throb, and the sun in her face isn’t helping. She wants to get up but she knows that Barb will undoubtedly wake from her movements. So Nancy just stays there, perfectly content with her juxtaposition, minus the headache and sun in her face. She tries to embrace the warmth of the sun, and the bed, and most of all, Barb…

_“C’mon, Nancy, it’ll be fine! Alfred Hitchcock was famous for making scary movies. It’s really good, and it’s kinda old so it can’t be that scary,” Barb says, emphasizing the “that” in her attempts to convince her friend. Nancy sits across from her, legs crossed like a kindergartener. Her long dark hair falling over her soft blue and star patterned pajamas. Nancy sighs and takes the VHS from Barb to examine it._

_"The Birds? I don’t see how something about little flying animals could be too scary. All right, fine, let’s just watch it. But I’m making popcorn first!”_

_Barb smiles at her friend’s acceptance, sitting up on her knees to put the tape in to the television. They’re not even 20 minutes in to the movie before Nancy jumps so abruptly that the popcorn bowl goes flying, and there’s kernels stuck behind Barb’s glasses, and Barb’s just laughing on the floor, Nancy’s face white as a sheet, her hand covering her scream. So Barb just makes Nancy more popcorn, drizzling chocolate sauce on it like she knows Nancy loves, as an apology for laughing and for “not properly warning me about the scariness of birds,” as Nancy put it. Barb just smiles for the rest of the night, and it’s not just because the chocolate sauce on the popcorn is delicious, but it is because Nancy holds her hand the rest of the movie and ends up falling asleep on her shoulder._

Nancy smiles fondly at the memory, her headache forgotten for a moment’s notice. But it comes back in full force and the heat of the morning becomes too much as she carefully inches her way out of the bed, trying her best not to disrupt Barb. Her attempts are futile though as Barb begins to slowly stir awake.

Nancy closes the bathroom door softly behind her. She stands over the sink, running cold water over her face, shivering slightly on impact, but ultimately rehydrated as she takes a few sips to dull her headache. She stares at her reflection, the water still running, filling the silence of her thoughts about the night before. As she touches the handle to turn it off, she can’t help but notice how cold and rough it feels, just like Steve’s hands.

Barb stretches awake, the tiredness still in full affect from the previous night’s events. She blinks her eyes open, adjusting to the glaring light, realizing with a frown that Nancy is gone. She sits up faster than she intended, the grogginess making her slightly dizzy at the movement. But any thoughts of confusion or hurt are put to rest when Nancy comes walking out of the bathroom.

“Hey,” Nancy says, smiling at the sight of Barb without her glasses, her red hair tousled from the hours of sleep.

“Hey,” Barb replies back, stifling a yawn. “I thought you’d left or something.” Nancy shakes her head in response, as if the idea is absurdity.

“Where would I go, silly?” Barb just shrugs sheepishly in response, a blush creeping in to her cheeks at the exchange. Barb reaches over to her bedside table to pick up her glasses lying next to her clock radio.

“Oh crap, Nancy. We’re gonna be late for school!”

“School, schmool,” Nancy replies, leaning casually over the foot of the bed.

“But what about that test we have?” Barb asks. Nancy shrugs before responding.

“We’ll have to make it up sometime, I guess.” Barb raises an eyebrow in question.

“Nancy Wheeler you are not seriously suggesting what I think you’re suggesting?”

“Oh Barbara, but I am,” Nancy says with a smug smile spreading across her lips. A similar one spreads over Barb’s face. Nancy moves around to stand in front of where Barb sits on the edge of her bed. “We’ll call it a mental health day. And a well deserved one at that.” Nancy says as she extends a small hand to help Barb stand up from the bed. Barb graciously accepts it and stands beside her much shorter friend. “Forget a day of school, let’s just have a day for me and you,” Nancy says, smiling before she stands on her tiptoes to fix a stray part of Barb’s curls. Barb smiles again, unable to contain her happiness at the notion that Nancy wants to blow off school just so she can spend more time with her.

“I wouldn’t have it any other way,” Barb says, smoothing out a part of Nancy’s bed head in turn. Barb’s sure she sees pink flush her friend’s cheeks, but just as soon as she saw it there, Nancy’s grabbing her hand and pulling her out the door, calling over her shoulder to Barb, a radiant smile dancing across her face.

“C’mon then, there’s a stack of chocolate chip pancakes at Benny’s with my name on them!”


	5. Chapter 5

Barb can feel Nancy’s eyes peering over at her from atop her menu as they sit opposite each other in a booth at Benny’s. Barb mimics Nancy’s position, her eyes meeting Nancy’s before Nancy drops her menu and laughs softly, embarrassed to be caught staring. 

“What’re you gonna get?” Nancy asks. 

“Well, I was thinking something savory to balance out those chocolate chip pancakes of yours. Omelette or bacon and eggs?” Barb replies. Nancy feigns an over exaggerated thinking face before she says, “An omelette, definitely. You can add bacon to it so you’ll have bacon and eggs and cheese.” Barb can’t help but smile at the slight pride in Nancy’s face at her decision making. 

“Here I was thinking I was smarter than you, but clearly your breakfast food choices far outshine my minimalist thinking.” Barb says. Nancy rolls her eyes but a smile creeps in to her face before she sips her coffee. 

The waitress comes to take their order. The two sit and talk about wether or not there’s really life in outer space. They talk about the stupidity of football as a sport. They talk about wether or not Joan Jett & the Blackhearts are really better than Fleetwood Mac or not. Nancy drives Barb crazy with that look she gives her when she realizes Barb’s right after all, Fleetwood Mac really is better. Nancy makes Barb laugh so hard she almost chokes on a bite of her omelette. Nancy feeds Barb a bite of her chocolate chip pancakes, and when a bit of chocolate smudges Barb’s cheek, Nancy wipes it off and Barb hides behind her blush. And when they’ve finished their food, and Nancy’s just holding her cup of coffee while she’s looking out the window, Barb knows she’d skip a whole week of school if it meant she got to have breakfast with Nancy every morning. 

“I just don’t get it, Barb.” Nancy says, breaking Barb’s string of thoughts. 

“Don’t get what?” 

“I really thought he was a good guy. That he really liked me.” Nancy says, trailing off by looking down in to her mug. Barb tenses suddenly, jolted back in to memory, having been distracted long enough from the previous night’s events. 

“I know you did, Nancy.” Nancy looks up to meet Barb’s gaze, and Barb can instantly tell she’s trying not to cry. “He’s just another one of those guys - he’s an asshole. A pathetic little boy.” Barb says, the harshness of her tone surprising even herself. 

“But he was just so nice. I felt good around him, like he cared about me.” Nancy says, purposefully looking away from Barb. 

“But he didn’t, he-“ 

“God! I know, Barb!” Nancy’s outcry startles a few patrons, attracting a few curious glances from the onlookers. She holds her head in her hands, trying to make herself smaller to attract less attention. Barb jumps a little at her friend’s words, biting her own lip from the hurt Nancy just inflicted.

“Nancy…” Barb’s tone is softer than usual, trying to bring Nancy back to her attention. “Nancy, I’m sorry.” Nancy drops her hands back to the table, a tear rolls down her now exposed face. 

“No, you don’t need to be sorry. I’m sorry. I just, I feel so stupid.” Nancy says, wiping the next tear that inexplicably falls. 

“You’re not stupid, Nancy. And you didn’t do anything wrong. I swear, the next time I see Steve’s stupid little face, he’s gonna have a black eye for a week.” Nancy offers a weak smile in response, still trying not to let all of her tears fall. Barb reaches across the table to take Nancy’s hand gently in her own. “He wasn’t even close to deserving you, true intentions or not. He’s just nothing, and you…you’re everything.” A silent tear falls down Nancy’s cheek as she looks back in to Barb’s brown eyes. An eyelash gets caught in the droplet as it falls. Barb carefully picks it off of Nancy’s face, holding it up to her, just centimeters from her mouth.   
“Here, make a wish. Forget about stupid Steve Harrington.” Barb says. Nancy smiles, more assuredly now, before she closes her eyes and softly blows the eyelash out of Barb’s fingertips. Barb smiles back, never taking her eyes off of Nancy’s. 

“Thanks, Barbara.” Barb shrugs in response, smiling, trying not to act like she doesn’t just want to lean over and kiss Nancy instead. 

“Let’s get out of here, have some real fun.” Barb says as she stands to go. The pair still smiling, hands still intertwined, as Barb leads Nancy out of the booth and out of the restaurant.


End file.
